The Goodman Theatre will host a memorial service in honor of its esteemed longtime collaborator and good friend, lighting and set designer Michael Philippi, who passed away on October 27.
The theatre community will gather on Monday, December 14 at 6:30pm at Goodman Theatre in Chicago to remember Philippi’s extensive contributions to the theatrical life of Chicago and the theatre community at large. The service will include tributes from those who collaborated with Philippi, as well as a multimedia presentation of his award-winning design work. All are welcome to attend; no reservations are needed. In addition, the Goodman invites those whose lives were touched by Philippi to share their condolences and expressions of tribute; visit the theater’s website, www.GoodmanTheatre.org, to post a message, or mail a sentiment to Goodman Theatre, Attn: Michael Philippi Condolences, 170 N. Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60601.
Philippi, who at the time of his death was at work at Goodman Theatre as lighting designer for High Holidays by Alan Gross, designed lighting for such productions as Desire Under the Elms, King Lear, Finishing the Picture, A Life in the Theatre, Heartbreak House, Blue Surge, Boy Gets Girl, Somebody Else’s House, On the Open Road and Pal Joey. He also designed scenery and lighting for the Goodman’s productions of Moonlight and Magnolias and The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? Other Chicago credits include designs for Northlight Theatre, St. Nicholas Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Remains Ensemble, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, where he last designed sets for Cymbeline and Troilus and Cressida.
Philippi’s Broadway designs include the Goodman productions of Desire Under the Elms, Death of a Salesman, and The Speed of Darkness. Philippi’s regional credits include the new Guthrie Theatre’s inaugural production of The Great Gatsby and designs for Alliance Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Mark Taper Forum, and Arena Stage. His New York credits include Boy Gets Girl at Manhattan Theatre Club, Blue Surge at the Public Theater, and Frank’s Home and Breath, Boom at Playwrights Horizons. His international credits include The Iceman Cometh at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre.
He has received Jeff Awards for Terra Nova and In the Belly of the Beast, both at Wisdom Bridge Theatre, and Hollywood Drama-Logue Awards for Kabuki Medea at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Changes of Heart at Mark Taper Forum.